Aker is expanding its capacity in order to meet demand for subsea umbilical cables in the Asia Pacific region

Aker is expanding its umbilicals production capacity

Global oil services company, Aker Solutions will build a new umbilical manufacturing plant in Pekan, Malaysia, to meet the anticipated growth and the needs of their Asia Pacific customers.

An investment of USD 60m will “expand Aker Solutions' manufacturing capacity and strengthen their position as a leading producer of steel tube umbilicals”, said the company in a statement on 16 April.

The new manufacturing facility close to Kuantan, on the east coast of Malaysia, will complement the existing umbilicals manufacturing plants located in Moss, Norway, and Mobile, Alabama, US, it said.

“This new plant increases Aker Solutions' footprint in Asia and our capability to serve customers in the Asia Pacific region," said Tove Roskaft, head of Aker Solutions' umbilical business.

"The umbilical market has robust fundamentals and this strong growth is expected to continue. This investment gives us a strategic advantage in the already booming oil and gas market in the region. As a technology and market leader, we are now ready to take on the opportunity of having umbilical manufacturing hubs in three major oil and gas regions of the world", she added.

Over the past few years, Aker Solutions has invested heavily in Malaysia, the company's hub for the Asia Pacific region. This includes their first-class manufacturing centre for subsea production technologies and drilling risers in Port Klang, close to Kuala Lumpur. The company also has a 600-strong front-end, design and engineering hub in Kuala Lumpur.

Subsea umbilicals are deployed on the seabed to supply necessary controls and chemicals to subsea oil and gas wells, subsea manifolds and any subsea system requiring a remote control. Over the past 15 years, Aker Solutions has delivered more than 400 umbilicals in harsh environment to ultra-deep, high-pressure water conditions.